Bounds on massive graviton-like particles from searches for axion-like particles coupling to photons
Abstract
Limits on spin-0 axion-like-particles (ALPs) coupling to photons are reinterpreted as constraints on massive spin-2 graviton-like-particles (GLPs) with universal coupling αG/MP (where MP is the reduced Planck mass) to the Standard Model fields. A minimally model-dependent recasting is performed, exploiting the formally analogous production and detection mechanisms for both particle types, based on the Primakoff and Gertsenshtein effects, i.e., photon-axion/graviton conversion. Constraints originally derived in the ALP mass vs. photon-coupling plane (ma, gaγ) are translated into the corresponding bounds in the GLP (mG, αG/MP) parameter space over the full mass range, ma,G ≈ 10−20--1014eV probed in current and future experimental setups including cavity-based detectors (haloscopes and resonant upconversion devices), helioscopes, magnetometers, optical interferometers, beam dumps, fixed-target, and collider experiments, as well as astrophysical and cosmological constraints. Generic scenarios are considered in which GLPs are a dark matter candidate and not. Whereas current ALP searches do not set stronger bounds on massive spin-2 particles than fifth-force tests, future magnetometers, two-beam interferometers, and upconversion experiments have the potential to provide very strong sensitivity, down to αG/MP ≈ 10−32 GeV−1, for light graviton-like particles with mG≲ 10−8eV. These future detectors exhibit comparatively greater sensitivity to massive gravitons than to axions. For massive gravitons at the TeV scale, exclusive diphoton decay searches, employed in ALP studies, offer a complementary approach to standard searches for spin-2 resonances in other inclusive final states.
Versions
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BibTeX
@misc{gue2026bounds,
title = {{Bounds on massive graviton-like particles from searches for axion-like particles coupling to photons}},
author = {Jordan Gué and David d'Enterria},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2605.00549},
eprint = {2605.00549},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.00549},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Bounds on massive graviton-like particles from searches for axion-like particles coupling to photons
AU - Jordan Gué
AU - David d'Enterria
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/30
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2605.00549
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.00549
AB - Limits on spin-0 axion-like-particles (ALPs) coupling to photons are reinterpreted as constraints on massive spin-2 graviton-like-particles (GLPs) with universal coupling α_G/M_P (where M_P is the reduced Planck mass) to the Standard Model fields. A minimally model-dependent recasting is performed, exploiting the formally analogous production and detection mechanisms for both particle types, based on the Primakoff and Gertsenshtein effects, i.e., photon-axion/graviton conversion. Constraints originally derived in the ALP mass vs. photon-coupling plane (m_a, g_aγ) are translated into the corresponding bounds in the GLP (m_G, α_G/M_P) parameter space over the full mass range, m_a,G ≈ 10^−20--10^14eV probed in current and future experimental setups including cavity-based detectors (haloscopes and resonant upconversion devices), helioscopes, magnetometers, optical interferometers, beam dumps, fixed-target, and collider experiments, as well as astrophysical and cosmological constraints. Generic scenarios are considered in which GLPs are a dark matter candidate and not. Whereas current ALP searches do not set stronger bounds on massive spin-2 particles than fifth-force tests, future magnetometers, two-beam interferometers, and upconversion experiments have the potential to provide very strong sensitivity, down to α_G/M_P ≈ 10^−32 GeV^−1, for light graviton-like particles with m_G≲ 10^−8eV. These future detectors exhibit comparatively greater sensitivity to massive gravitons than to axions. For massive gravitons at the TeV scale, exclusive diphoton decay searches, employed in ALP studies, offer a complementary approach to standard searches for spin-2 resonances in other inclusive final states.
ER -